Gaetano Giuffrè

Gaetano Giuffrè (born Corfu, 14 September 1918 – 8 January 2018) was an Italian-Greek-Swiss composer and maestro whose father was Giovanni Giuffrè, also a composer and maestro born in Corfu, Greece. Biography Born into a musical family, Giuffrè began playing violin and piano with his father at the age of 4 until he became an adult at the age of 18. In 1936, he moved to Athens to study composition with George Sklavos and Dimitri Mitropulos, focusing on fugues and counterpoints. In 1939, he moved to Rome and studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia where he was one of the students of renown composer, Alfredo Casella. There he acquired formation in choir studies with Elena Mangione and from choir director and influential composer, Goffredo Petrassi. From 1957 to 1972 he became an artistic director for Radio Svizzera Italiana in Lugano. During this period he received an award by the 8th International Competition G.B. Viotti in Vercelli, Italy for his work, Tema con Variazioni, for one piano. During this period he conducted and performed piano recitals throughout Europe. In 1957–1961, he was commissioned by the Italian State to direct his work, Aeroporto. The first showing of